This invention relates to automobile lighting systems, and particularly a lighting system which is adapted to be utilized for the headlights of an automobile or similar type of motor vehicle.
The conventional headlights of an automobile or similar type of vehicle comprise a pair of forwardly directed semiparabolic reflectors or mirrors which are mounted at each side of the front of the automobile and reflect forwardly light rays emanating from a light bulb filament mounted at the center of the reflector. Such headlights, particularly on "bright" or "high beams", frequently used for fast driving or winding roads, are a danger to oncoming motorists, since the light beam is intense in an upward direction in order to provide adequate illumination a considerable distance down the road. For a depressed beam or "dim" light, current may be supplied to an off center filament which produces less total light than the "bright" filament, and also directs the light downwardly onto the road a relatively short distance ahead of an automobile. A variation of this construction consists of two sets of headlights, one for the down or "dim" lights, and the other for the "bright" or straight ahead lights.
The light rays produced by the "bright" filament, when reflected directly forward by a parabolic reflector, are quite difficult to control.